Obama on Ending the "War on Terror"

President Obama's speech on May 23 about ongoing issues in our "War on Terror" was a welcome exercise in self-examination.  Nearly 12 years after the attacks of 9-11-2001 the implications of an ostensibly permanent state of low level war have the potential to permanently warp our constitutional and civil libertarian framework.  The President presented his quandary, his responsibility to defend the republic and its citizens balanced against his equal responsibility to safeguard their rights and freedoms.  His considerations were thought-provoking and timely, meant to spark national debate and strongly tilted toward offering a rationale that his own power ought to be curtailed.

Appropriately quoting constitutional framer James Madison's  observation that  "no nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare," the President made a compelling case for scaling back our drone program, closing the Guantanamo prisoner facility and transitioning our main anti-terrorist emphasis from a military to a law enforcement approach.  The drone strikes have accomplished most of what can reasonably be expected of them.  Most of Al-Qaeda's leadership is gone.  Yet now, civilian casualties and the violation of national territory are provoking greater and greater backlash as we target smaller and smaller fry in the terror world.  Strikes have already been scaled back to about one-fifth of what they were running in 2010.  There will now be a restriction of targeting to those known to be imminent threats to Americans who cannot be reached any other way, including by local national forces.

There are still 166 inmates at Guantanamo, over half of whom have been cleared for release.  Yet they remain under detention thanks to congressional insistence.  Obama again called on congress to act in accord with the principles of international and U.S. law.    He said, "I know the politics are hard. But history will cast a harsh judgment on this aspect of our fight against terrorism and those of us who fail to end it."

The congressional Authorization for the Use of Military Force passed in the wake of 9-11 remains in effect.  The President says it is time to end it.  His is the responsible position that conferring virtually unlimited power on the President for virtually unlimited periods of time is incompatible with the constitution of a free country.  He is right.  It is also, incidentally, highly admirable of him to propose it.  How many leaders ever ask to have the power of their office limited in any fashion?  

The bottom line is that all wars must come to an end.  There will still be terrorists and atrocities.  But we cannot operate on a perpetual wartime footing without becoming a military regime or a police state.  President Obama is right.  It's time to move on.  The idea is not to let our guard down, but to remain vigilant and effective through the law enforcement, judicial and constitutional processes that were established and have been preserved over 200 years specifically for these purposes.